The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-07-14
Dishonest OmcerIn

hOOA@AON-@-@-9
a sensation was created in the Treasury
Department this afternoon by the dis
covery that a trusted official in that
Department had been guilty of a sys-
tematic attempt to defraud the Gov
eminent. The officer was arrested at
WilkeSbarre yesterday afternoon as he
was about to take train for Washing
ton, and his dismissal from the service
was ordered by Secretary Fairchild
this afternoon. His name is Oscar j.
Harvey, and he has been employed in
the Department since June, 1885, when
he was appointed chief of the horse
claims division of the Third Auditors
Office. 1t was while he held this
frauds with which he is now
charged, On the I'd day of June
last he was transferred to the head of a
division in the Second COmptroller's
office, division which has charge of
claims of the same nature as those in
the division which he had just left.
Austin H. Brown, of Indianapolis,
succeeded Harvey as chief of the horse
claims division and soon after he took
frauds of which his predecessor had
been guilty. They consisted of the
passages of forty-three fraudulent
claims for horses aggregating S., 200
and the preparation of many additional
cases of a similar nature which were
under consideration in the office. Soon
after Mr.. Brown took charge he dis
covered something wrong and reported
the matter to the Secretary
In most cases the claims
are for horses lost during the late war,
and are presented in the names of Off
GERS of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
regiments. All of the cases appeared
to have been prosecuted by Nv. w.
Wynn first of Philadelphia and then
of Washington, and the services of
81. G. ManfOrd," notary public, Phil
adelphia, were called into requisitiOn in
connection with necessary affidayitS.
The work involved very large num-
Der of foreigners, officials, and other
wise, and the stealing of numerous in
eliminating papers from the files of the
Department. For instance, in thirteen
claims it was found that signatures in
vOlving the names of thiTty-eight Off
GERS were forgerieS. Subsequently it
was found that the Second Auditor s
name had been forged in the certifi-
also that none of the Pennsylvania
and New Jersey cases in
which Mr.. Wynn was attorney
were entered in the records of that of
flee. The claims which had been al
lowed were then overhauled and in al
most every instance it was found that
the Second Auditors certificate as to
signature had been distracted together
with other papers. The stamp of the
Mail Room, Third Auditors Office and
| the stamp of the horse claims division
had been forged and the dates arranged
so as to bring them within the limita-
tion fixed for the filing of these claims.
The stamp of the Quartermaster Gen
| erals Office was also forged. The
drafts were regularly issued and an ex-
| animation of such as have been return
ed as Lpaid shows that Harvey
| and Wynn are one and the
same person, and that although the
| drafts were drawn in favor of the
| claimants the money with one or two
exceptions went directly to Harvey, OF
| to some of his relatives. He had Sc
| cured their payment by forging the
signature of the payee and then en-
| dorsing the draft with his own name.
Monfort, the Philadelphia notary, like
Wynn, the attorney, was found to be q
myth. Most of the notaries and per
sons named in the claims are known tC
the Department. In addition to the
forty-three cases past, there have been
$50 similar cases adjusted, aggregatine
| $50, 900, and there are still pending an
unadjusted sixty cases, amounting tC
S13, 500, making total of 161 fraudu.
lent cases which might have eventually
been paid but for the discovery.
Harvey left Washington the 1st inst
on short vacation, and, as already
stated, was arrested as he was about tt
return. He was brought to this city
by officers of the secret service who
have kept him under surveillance since
he was first suspected. He asked tx
see the Secretary, and when he was in
formed of the evidence against him ht
broke down completely and made full
confession of his guilt.
He declared that he has been goaded Il
this action by man with whom he hal
been in partnership and who urged hin
to make the most of his opportunities
He asserted that he had no accom-
pliceS. Harvey was held in Sl2, 90
bonds for the Grand Jury.